AG RETAIL

America’s Conservation Ag Movement Adds Nutrien Ag Solutions to Coalition Strengthening American Agriculture

Tue, 07 Oct 2025 13:40:13 GMT

This article is published as part of America’s Conservation Ag Movement , which supports farmers and ranchers in building profitable, resilient futures for their operations.

Since its beginning in 2018, America’s Conservation Ag Movement (ACAM) has been dedicated to preserving the American farm family’s access to the tools, resources and education needed to grow the products that feed, clothe and power the world.

Today, ACAM welcomes Nutrien Ag Solutions , the world’s largest provider of crop inputs and services through a nationwide network of trusted retail locations, as the newest contributor in that coalition.

ACAM is a public-private partnership that brings together leading technical assistance and innovation through a farmer-led experience aimed at bridging the gap between the industry and farm-gate. Nutrien Ag Solutions joins other supporters in the coalition including Ducks Unlimited, American Farmland Trust, Syngenta, National Association of Conservation Districts, and Valent U.S.A.

“Nutrien is a strong on-the-ground resource to farmers nationwide,” says Andrew Lyon, America’s Conservation Ag Movement. “Their comprehensive agronomic expertise and commitment to sustainability through their industry-leading conservation programs will be a vital asset as we work to secure the future of America’s working farmlands.”

Nutrien Ag Solutions works side by side with farmers through its global retail network of local crop consultants, delivering agronomic expertise, digital tools and programs that help strengthen on-farm operations. By joining America’s Conservation Ag Movement, Nutrien Ag Solutions is expanding its efforts to share practical know-how and farmer-tested practices with a broader community. The company is dedicated to supporting strong yields today while safeguarding the land for future generations.

“We are proud to join ACAM and bring our deep retail network and agronomic expertise to this important coalition,” said Dr. Sally Flis, Senior Director of Agronomy, Environmental Health and Safety, Nutrien Ag Solutions. “Our goal is to help farmers adopt practices that improve soil health, protect water quality and strengthen long-term productivity, while demonstrating the positive role agriculture plays in addressing food security challenges. Joining ACAM strengthens our shared mission of advancing solutions that work for both growers and the environment.”

Each year, ACAM connects farmers and ranchers through on-the-ground farmer-led education and online community building bolstered by Farm Journal, Inc., the leader in outreach, business information and media for the agriculture market.

To learn more about America’s Conservation Ag Movement™ and its partners, visit www.americasconservationagmovement.com .

High Interest Rates Could Reshape Agriculture’s Future

Wed, 17 Sep 2025 19:13:47 GMT

“Yeah, you can buy dirt...
And thank the good Lord for it...
‘Cause he ain’t makin’ any more of it.”

The lyrics above are from the 2021 hit country song “Buy Dirt,” which voices a mantra that lives within every farmer, because those who farm view land as more than a commodity; it’s their livelihood and legacy.

Those generational legacies are at the greatest risk of extinction since the 1980s farm crisis. Persistently high interest rates are a key reason.

We’re in an agricultural downturn that owes its roots to many reasons: low commodity prices, high input prices, tariffs, trade disputes, etc. Interest rates happen to be one of many reasons contributing to this latest economic funk.

However, if a 1980s-type agricultural land crisis emerges from this downturn, many will point to the Federal Reserve as their favorite scapegoat. That’s because in its zeal to combat inflation at all costs, the Fed might have just cost many the chance to grow the farm, and in some cases even keep the farm.

The Math That Doesn’t Lie

An Iowa corn farmer pencils out a purchase on quality farmland priced at $11,467 per acre (2024 Iowa State University Land Value Survey). With current financing at 7.6% interest (Federal Reserve agricultural lending rates), the annual debt service alone costs $777 per acre on a 30-year loan with 20% down.

The same acre generates roughly $814 in gross revenue from corn at USDA’s projected 2025/26 price ($3.90 per bushel at 209 bu. per acre average Iowa yield, USDA World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates, August 2025). Here’s the devastating math: total production costs, excluding land costs, reach $595 per acre (Iowa State University 2025 crop production cost estimates).

Renting identical land for $271 per acre results in a $52 annual loss per acre. Land ownership amplifies this to a $558 annual loss per acre, a financial wall that makes farmland purchase economically destructive.

To break even on rental operations, corn prices would need to reach $4.14 per bushel — 6% above USDA’s projection. For land ownership to pencil out, corn would need to hit $6.56 per bushel — 68% above the projected price.

Disproportionate Burden

While rising interest rates have impacted the broader economy, no sector has been hit harder than agriculture, particularly farmers attempting to build equity through land ownership. American agricultural producers paid $33.85 billion in total interest in 2023 (USDA Economic Research Service), representing 7.4% of total expenses and making interest the third-largest farm expense category.

The comparison to housing reveals ag’s unique vulnerability. Both sectors experienced similar interest rate increases — from roughly 3% up to 6% to 8% — but with different outcomes. In housing, higher mortgage payments remain manageable for qualified buyers. In agriculture, land purchases now generate negative cash flows that make ownership financially impossible for most operators.

Why the stark difference? Agricultural land purchases are purely investment-driven, requiring positive returns to justify the expense. Unlike housing, which provides utility regardless of financial performance, farmland must cash flow or it becomes economically irrational to own.

Numbers Tell a Bleak Story

Over the past five years, interest expenses have become the fastest-growing farm expense, increasing 19.1% in 2023 and 33.2% in 2022 (USDA Economic Research Service). For the first time since 2001, interest costs on new farmland loans have surpassed the recent average annual appreciation in land values, a fundamental shift in farmland economics.

With corn supplies projected at a record 16.7 billion bushels and continued oversupply expected, the commodity price recovery needed remains years away. Total farm sector debt is forecast to reach $561.8 billion in 2025 (USDA ERS, February 2025), yet the income to service this debt continues shrinking. USDA’s brutal assessment: Ag economists report that 56% think U.S. agriculture is in recession (Farm Journal’s Ag Economists’ Monthly Monitor).

This economic reality is triggering a fundamental shift in American agriculture’s structure. Land ownership is rapidly giving way to rental arrangements. While specific projections for rental acre increases vary, the trend is clear: The rental market will start expanding significantly.

Though Iowa cash rental rates decreased 2.9% in 2025 to $271 per acre, the first decline since 2019 (Iowa State University), many
farming operations struggle to generate profits. Many analysts suggest this dip is temporary, as rental rates and land prices will have to find some equilibrium.

A New Investment Priority

Amid this crisis, one investment category offers opportunity: production efficiency technology. Well-implemented efficiency investments can deliver 15% to 30% profitability improvements with manageable risk and measurable benefits. Producers must adopt these ROI technologies soon to distinguish themselves as best-of-breed operators.

The same cash or equity down payment used for land purchase could drive efficiencies across all acres currently owned and rented. Critical areas include precision fertilizer systems, GPS guidance systems, variable rate technology and comprehensive precision agriculture systems that can achieve up to double-digit ROI on large-scale operations in optimal conditions.

Maximizing efficiency gains can mean survival in the downturn, but they cannot overcome the economics of $11,467-per-acre land with USDA’s projected $3.90 corn.

What Comes Next

The path forward requires recognizing this as a structural transformation. Land prices need 30% to 40% declines, corn prices need recovery above $5.50 per bushel, or interest rates need to drop to 4% to 5% to restore purchase viability. None appear imminent.

Over 50% of U.S. cropland is rented (2022 Census of Agriculture); that is expected to grow. Only the strongest operators will remain as landowners, while others transition to tenant farming with reduced equity-building opportunities.

This turnover in land ownership will mainly occur via generational transfers — from farming families to heirs who may no longer be bound to the land’s legacy. These inheritance-driven transitions will fundamentally reshape rural America’s ownership patterns, often favoring rental arrangements over continued family farming operations.

For farmers, immediate priorities include maximizing operational efficiency through technology, securing flexible rental agreements and building cash reserves for the inevitable land price correction. The bigger question is: Can policymakers, lenders and farmers navigate this transition while maintaining productive capacity and preserving rural communities?

It’s time to get to work, as the math doesn’t lie, and this transformation has begun.

Author’s Note: As of this article’s writing, the Fed had not held its September meeting. In August, it indicated that a .025% rate cut might be forthcoming; rates would still be 2.5 percentage points higher (161%) than before the pandemic.

Steve Cubbage is a precision ag consultant and farmer from Nevada, Mo. He is the founder of Longitude 94, an agriculture sustainability and technology consulting business.

Illinois Farmer Says EPA's New Herbicide Strategy Is A Course Change But Doable

Fri, 21 Mar 2025 13:44:35 GMT

Steve Pitstick is counting down the days until he pulls into fields to start planting this year’s crops. “We’ve probably got another two weeks to go. There’s still some work in the shop to do, we’re getting seed in position and crop protection products ready to go,” he says.

Regarding the latter, that includes Liberty Ultra herbicide which Pitstick uses for post weed control on soybean ground. Liberty Ultra was the first herbicide registered under the EPA’s new Herbicide Strategy, a key part of the agency’s efforts to adhere to Endangered Species Act (ESA) requirements.

The Herbicide Strategy, which targets land in cultivation, includes spray drift and runoff mitigation measures, with specific requirements for each field.

“I’ve been to some seminars and read various information about it, so I’m not worried about the changes, but I want to be informed,” says Pitstick, who farms about 5,700 acres of corn and soybeans with his son, Dale, in northern Illinois, less than 50 miles west of the Chicago suburbs.

Being informed is the goal Corey Lacey has for farmers he’s talked with over the past few months about the Herbicide Strategy. As the environmental policy manager for the Illinois Soybean Association (ISA), Lacey has crisscrossed the state with Illinois Farm Bureau and Illinois Corn to host workshops for row-crop growers and retailers on the subject.

“Farmers have already seen some examples of changes to the labels around Endangered Species Act obligations, and it’s going to change how they farm,” he predicts.

Aaron Hager, University of Illinois Extension weed scientist, says virtually every county in the United State either has a threatened or endangered species or has the habitat that would support one.

“There’s roughly 1,700 threatened endangered species in the United States, and more than half of those are plant species,” Hager shared during a recent webinar, in conjunction with Lacey and the ISA.

Mitigation Points Must Add Up For Herbicide Use
As EPA implements the Herbicide Strategy, the agency will assign each product a mitigation point requirement, a number between zero to nine that farmers must attain.

“The idea is…on every field that you operate on, you’re going to have to look at that field and then decide, ‘How do I get to these points?’” Lacey says. “We’re expecting most herbicide products to require six points. Nine is the most mitigation points that you would need, and that would be for a product especially concerning to the EPA,” he adds.

Three is the required number of mitigation points, in most scenarios, for Liberty Ultra.

“I think that will be fairly easy to achieve just by doing the normal things we do here in northern Illinois,” Pitstick says. “We have to consider spray drift control measures, nozzle sizes, field slope, and tillage practices, all of which gives us enough points to use the product.”

The one concern Pitstick and Lacey have is related to the mandatory 10-foot ground spray drift buffer (downwind) required now for applications of Liberty Ultra. The buffer wasn’t a labeled requirement previously.

“That’s a bit of a challenge for our guys because if we’re doing ground applications, there’s not a really effective way for us to make that buffer strip smaller,” Lacey says. “We can either put in wind breaks, hedgerows or use a hooded applicator, and none of those are commonly used here.”

Pitstick is evaluating his fields to identify sensitive areas that would require the buffer and will then adjust accordingly. “I might use a different product in those fields, or lay the 10-foot buffer and then come back another day when there’s less wind to make the application,” he says.

Both of those are strategies Lacey would encourage other farmers to consider. “That broader thinking pattern is what we want guys to think about, to look at each field and say, ‘Is this something I need to address in this field or not?’”

How the EPA will evaluate farmer compliance with the herbicide use requirements for Liberty Ultra and subsequent products to come is still unknown and one of Hager’s primary questions at this point.

Among other questions he says EPA still needs to answer are: Who is legally responsible for implementing herbicide mitigation practices?What happens if the farmer doesn’t own the ground? How is EPA going to measure success?

Hager says he is hopeful such unanswered questions will get resolved with guidance from state lead agencies moving forward as more product labels come into compliance with ESA requirements.

Looking Ahead, Know that 2,4-D, Glyphosate And Dicamba Are On The List
Lacey says other herbicide active ingredients are not far behind Liberty Ultra on EPA’s list to address with its Herbicide Strategy.

“EPA has indicated that as part of their court settlement, they’re going to push things through rapidly,” Lacey says. “I know 2,4-D is on the list, as is glyphosate and dicamba. All these things we use on a regular basis in Illinois and other states are eventually going to come under the Herbicide Strategy label.”

“The Herbicide Strategy was developed first due to the large volume of herbicides used in agriculture,” Hager says. He explains that EPA had only three options for achieving compliance: it could remove pesticides from the market, restrict their use or add mitigations to protect endangered or at-risk species.

Along with herbicide active ingredients, insecticides and fungicides will also go through the ESA assessment process. Next up, the EPA is scheduled to introduce its Insecticide Strategy, due March 31. However, Lacey says the agency has already asked for an extension from the court overseeing the process.

“What may happen is the new administration may soften the blow, slow down things a little bit, which I think we would be supportive of. We want science-based, logical decisions, so let’s take a minute and make sure we’re doing this right,” Lacey says.

With the Trump administration back in the White House, Lacey says one of the most common questions farmers are asking him is whether the ESA requirements for compliance will go away.

“I would remind farmers that some of the courts would look at this and just tell EPA, ‘you’re not in compliance,’ and they would pull the pesticide label. Courts have the authority to do that. So, we want to help EPA come into compliance in a way where the mitigations have minimal impacts on our farmers, so we keep our products available for use.”

Adds Pitstick, “There’s a lot of changes in EPA right now, but we know we’ve got a course change here.”

Farmers Have Time To Prepare And Make Plans For Fields One big positive Lacey says is that the herbicide strategy will be implemented over time, instead of on a specific date.
“It’s not coming at (farmers) all at once, so as long as they’re learning about it now and starting to think about how to prepare themselves, there’s still plenty of time to get ready,” Lacey says

He wants farmers to start the process of evaluating fields and determining mitigation requirements now, even for products like Liberty Ultra that have already gone through the new registration process.

“We can do this,” he says. “We can find ways to comply, but we have to plan for it.”

Hager encourages farmers to talk with their agronomic advisers and retailers as part of the planning process and to tap into the expertise of their state Extension specialists.

“You need to find any problem fields now, so you can put things in place ahead of time,” Lacey adds. “You know, 2025 is probably not going to be a big issue for a lot of guys. But in 2026, 27, we’re going to see this become more complicated, so why not get started now?”

That’s Pitstick’s plan and what he encourages other farmers to do. “Just figure out where your sensitive areas in fields are now. That can help you be ready to course change.”

For additional information on the Herbicide Strategy and how to plan for adoption, check out the webinar Hager and Lacey hosted recently. You can watch it at Implementing the Herbicide Strategy for Midwest Farmers

The Scoop Podcast: Insights For The Future of Ag Trade With Former Ambassador Terry Branstad

Wed, 20 Nov 2024 16:27:38 GMT

Ambassador Terry Branstad was the first U.S. state governor to host Xi Jinping in 1985, so he carries the unique distinction of being called an “old friend” by the Chinese leader as well as a friend to President Donald Trump.

He’s also the longest serving governor in U.S. history having had two periods as Iowa governor (1983 to 1999 and 2011 to 2015).

“I was the first American governor that hosted Xi Jinping when he was just a young party leader from our sister state, Hubei province in China,” Branstad says. “So I’m one of the few people in the world that can say I’m a friend of Donald Trump, and Xi Jinping calls me an old friend because we treated him so well when he came Iowa in 1985.”

As such, Branstad has the one-of-a-kind perspective on how trade will evolve in the coming years with the second term for President Trump. He shared more on The Scoop Podcast.

“Things are developing pretty fast, and the appointments are being made, but I think Trump has really learned from his first-term experience that ‘Never Trumpers’ are gone,” Branstad says. “He’s really looking for people that are loyal and competent, and I’m very hopeful that we’re going to see some dramatic changes that’s going to help make America great again and help improve income for American workers and income for American farmers.”

Branstad himself is proud to mention the background of being an Iowa farm kid.

“As is the case in agriculture, we have ups and downs. We’ve had some pretty good years, and now we have some challenging times,” he says.

Branstad highlights how “for a trade deal to be good, it needs to be a win-win for both sides.” He offers some trade “wins” with the Phase One agreement.

“We were able to, over several years, negotiate the Phase One trade agreement, which led to dramatic increases in exports, especially agriculture exports to China,” he says. “I’m hopeful that this time around, Trump will look at the same thing. And I think one of the things he’s trying to do is encouraging some of these foreign companies and foreign countries to look at investing and creating jobs in the United States.”

He shares more insights about the future of trade and its effects on the agricultural industry in this episode of The Scoop Podcast.

To hear even more, attend the ARA Conference and Expo, Dec. 3 to 5 in Houston where Branstad will be giving a fireside chat.

Indigo Ag and Truterra Form ‘Landmark Collaboration’ in Carbon

Mon, 18 Nov 2024 16:42:24 GMT

Today, Indigo Ag and Truterra announced they are aligning their carbon efforts for further expansion.

After being in the market alongside each other for four years, Truterra will begin offering Indigo Ag carbon programs, and Indigo Ag science will back Truterra’s carbon measurement.

Leaders of both companies say this has a three-prong goal for the carbon opportunities in front of farmers:

Simplifying
Scaling
Standardizing

“We’ve got to stop double investment,” says Ewan Lamont, Head of Indigo’s Sustainability Solutions business “Both companies have been investing in same things, and it makes absolutely no sense. This work is expensive, it’s difficult, and it involves biology and sustainability science so it’s challenging.”

Lamont specifically says this partnership does not reduce Indigo Ag team members in the field selling and promoting their programs.

Jamie Leifker, President of Truterra, says previous years’ programs for carbon credits have sold out of the tons Truterra enrolled. Leifker is bullish on how adding Indigo Ag into their portfolio will expand opportunities for farmers.

“This market is fragmented and decentralized with inconsistent standards,” he says. “Farmers have a lot of questions—'how do I know what program is right for me?’ What this collaboration means for us is that we’re able to then guide them to the right program by working with Indigo to expand the portfolio of program options that farmers have and give them flexibility to move from one program to the next.”

For 2025, the partnership has two goals:

expanding access to registry-based credit opportunities through Indigo’s carbon program for farmers and ag retailers in the Truterra network
expanding Indigo’s and Truterra’s scope 3 programs, using consistent standards, for companies seeking to reduce emissions from within their grain and livestock ingredients supply chain

Lamont says, “This partnership is a big manifestation of the carbon market standing up and really maturing. I can’t think of a better group of guys to doing it with. We will work to align to the rules in the road and therefore expand opportunities.”

How To Elevate Agriculture: Ag Retailer Steps Up On The TEDx Stage

Thu, 31 Oct 2024 21:04:44 GMT

A man who is no stranger to advocacy was on a mission. Mike Twining has been working toward taking a fact-based appeal to the stage of TEDx—the primetime way of sharing big ideas with potentially a big audience for big impact.

This spring, mission accomplished . Twining spoke at a TEDx event hosted by Grand Canyon University and delivered his talk “Saving the Planet With Your Food Choices.”

In his day job, Twining is vice president of sales and marketing at Willard Agri-Service, and for the past 40 years, he’s worked side by side with crop consultants to help farmers make the best decisions agronomically, environmentally and economically. Twining has taken on leadership roles within the Agricultural Retailers Association and stepped up to the call when needed, so much so that ARA awarded him the Excellent in Advocacy Award just last year.

But the calling to take his message to TEDx stage was greater than any doubts that surfaced about being in a room that may not include a single other person familiar with commercial agriculture.

“I hope my ideas spark curiosity and conversation beyond the standard sound bites we all hear about how our food is raised,” Twining says. “It’s easy sometimes to think that we have all the information, but still draw the wrong conclusion. Agriculture is one of the few industries that can scale globally in the next decade to meaningfully reduce climate change.”

He proposes there are three topics around food products we are consistently misled as consumers:

Organics
Genetically modified organisms
Glyphosate

And he proposes how consumers can incentive solutions with food buying purchases to give farmers the right tools and incentives.

The full presentation is available here (and it’s a tight 12 minutes.)

Syngenta and Taranis Announce Multi-Year Collaboration

Tue, 15 Oct 2024 19:05:50 GMT

Over a three-year period, Syngenta Crop Protection and Taranis will partner to bring ag retailers Taranis’ AI-powered agronomic platforms.

The companies say this brings the technology enabling leaf-level remote scouting insights and generative AI agronomic recommendations to a higher level of adoption by ag retailers. Particularly, Syngenta will extend a unique offer focused in the Midwest to support targeted retailers’ adoption.

“We believe this collaboration with Taranis will help retailers tap into the full potential of AI and digital agronomy, unlocking new levels of operational efficiencies,” says Paul Backman, Head of NA CP Digital Agriculture & Sustainable Solutions . “By combining Syngenta’s industry-leading portfolio with Taranis’ AI-driven insights, we empower retailers to deliver better, faster and more precise service to their grower-customers.”

The goals are four-fold: improve workflows, optimize farm decision making, facilitate grower adoption of conservation practices, and increase farm profitability.

“Having an instantaneous understanding of the issues and the optimal solution creates efficiencies and opportunities the industry has never seen before,” says Opher Flohr, CEO of Taranis. “This collaboration with Syngenta is a significant step forward in driving the AI revolution for production agriculture.”

The partnership will include ongoing development between Syngenta and Taranis to support the continued advancement of AI-powered agronomic platforms.

This news will also include integration with technology and features from the Syngenta Cropwise platform, which focuses on conservation agronomy, agricultural productivity, and AI-enabled agronomic solutions.

What Impact Will the Fed's Rate Cut Have on Ag Markets?

Wed, 18 Sep 2024 22:45:34 GMT

The Federal Reserve cut interest rates by 50 basis points on Wednesday.

The cut was largely anticipated and so it was already priced into the financial and other markets according to Darren Frye with Water Street Advisory.

He says the markets are now looking forward to determine the additional cuts through the end of the year.

Frye says the move is positive for the agricultural markets because the change in monetary policy will weaken the U.S. dollar index.

That makes the United States more competitive with other export customers and should lead to additional business.

“A lower dollar means higher commodities,” he states.

Grains ended mixed and all the ag markets traded two-sided positioning ahead of the announcement.

Frye says the soybean market was supported by positive supply and demand factors, including disappointing early yields in the Eastern Corn Belt and an increase in export business, particularly to China.

Soybeans did see some early technical buying and managed to get above the 50 day moving average but could not hold that level into the close due to a pick up in harvest pressure and hedge selling.

However, Frye thinks the market will continue to move higher.

Corn ended flat on the day caught in a tug of war between lower wheat and the higher soybean futures.

Wheat saw pressure on profit taking after failing to take out chart resistance plus forecasted rains for the Southern Plains winter wheat areas.

New Research: Four Ways to Accelerate Conservation Via Ag Retailers

Tue, 27 Aug 2024 14:00:23 GMT

New research outlines the key obstacles in adopting conservation agriculture practices, and how the path of least resistance forward is via ag retail.

Ag retailers are some of the most trusted of a farmer’s stable of advisors. Syngenta, in partnership with America’s Conservation Ag Movement, recently used Farm Journal data and intelligence to dig into that relationship and how it can be leveraged to carry conservation adoption forward.

Questions Answered
Through behavioral, demographic, psychographic intelligence as well as quantitative research done in the Corn Belt, the partnership uncovered a variety of interesting insights from ag retailers, including what holds them back from bridging the conservation gap with their customers.

The report, available now through Trust In Food , sought to understand the following key questions from the perspectives of ag retailers:

How willing are you to advise farmers on conservation topics?
What factors influence discussions with farmers about soil health and conservation?
Which key barriers or incentives could motivate you to help these conversations advance?

Key Sentiments and Findings

62% of retailers reported they believed that farmers were satisfied with the status quo and would be unwilling to abandon current farming techniques to adopt conservation practices on their farms.
37% believe farmers have a lack of awareness of conservation practices
25% believe conservation is not aligned with farmer goals

What Resonates With Ag Retailers, Resonates With Farmers
To shift the tide, the report found that ag retailers could be the key, based upon their significant level of trust with farmers, but only if the retailer “authentically believed that the practices would help their customers achieve their goals.”

Accomplishing that, according to the report, means companies and organizations in the value chain need to arm the retail sector with the information they need to reach that level of comfort, including:

Providing a steady drumbeat of messaging and material

Conservation is not a one-size-fits-all approach and retailers need support from value chain leaders to keep that conversation going with customers.

Using the correct terminology

Different terms and phrases resonate differently with audiences. The report looked into which terms are preferred by retailers in the Corn Belt, encouraging value chain partners to select carefully the terminology used when providing conservation messaging.

Embedding conservation into existing conversations

Retailers need communications that connect conservation to existing motivators, such as risk mitigation and long-term financial viability for farms.

Helping to build existing relationships

Retailers believe that providing conservation advice can be an added value that helps to strengthen relationships with farmer-customers.

To learn more from the report, visit Trust In Food . To learn more about the public-private partnership that fuels conservation adoption, visit America’s Conservation Ag Movement .

Ferrie: Corn Is Going Into The Home Stretch, Do You Need To Make A Second Fungicide Application?

Tue, 20 Aug 2024 15:16:30 GMT

Ken Ferrie is hearing from farmers across the Midwest who are trying to decide whether to make a second fungicide application to hybrids affected by heavy disease pressure. In southern Indiana, he is seeing many fields of corn at R5 that are fighting tar spot, which is particularly concerning because of how quickly the disease can take down a corn crop.

“There, many fields have been sprayed twice, and farmers are entertaining a third application,” says Ferrie, Farm Journal Field Agronomist, based in Heyworth, Ill.

At this point in the season, Ferrie recommends corn growers scout fields with tar spot to identify where it is located on the plants. Look to see if the disease is moving around and can be found higher in the plants, and not just along the base of the stalks.

“With corn prices expected to lead with a three in the front, it does make it hard for growers to decide what to do next,” Ferrie acknowledges. “We have corn stretched out here in Illinois from R3.5 to R5, and at R5 we still have 30 days to go in this growing season.”

Another consideration farmers need to think through is how long they will need tar spot infected corn to stand in the field before harvesting it.

“Many of you guys have indicated you’re going to let corn dry in the field, and you don’t care if that takes until December,” he says. “In corn with tar spot in the midway up in the plants at R4 and with the plan to dry corn in the field, you may need to help that crop out with a second fungicide pass.”

Don’t Over-Estimate Yield Counts

2024 will go down as the year of the aphid for many growers. Some hybrids are giving up 15 to 35 bushels per acre to the pest, which is adding insult to injury by contributing to green snap.

“In some fields, aphids have caused the plants to abort one-third to all of the ear. Green snap below the ear means a complete loss, and green snap above the ears is resulting in about a third of an ear, which is probably going to go through the stripper plates,” Ferrie says.

As you do yield checks in these fields, he says to start with all the non-affected corn ears and calculate the yield on them first. Then, make a yield estimate on the poor ears, divide this number by 90, and then add that number to your unaffected ear yield estimate to arrive at your final yield estimate.

“These aphid-affected plants often have uniform stalk diameters, which can be missed when you’re checking your ear counts out there,” Ferrie cautions. “Growers who disregard poor ears and calculate the yield on good ears and use uniform plants as their ear count are going to over-estimate yields.”

Ferrie notes that the impact of aphids is worse on some hybrids than on others, but to not simply resort to pulling those hybrids out of your lineup for 2025, because many of them are high-yielding.

“We just need to be aware if aphids are an issue in certain hybrids as we plan for next season,” he says. “For now, those affected hybrids need to be watched for harvest loss this fall. Don’t let them get through the stripper plate, and get as much corn off aborted tips as possible,” he adds.

Listen here for this week’s complete Boots In The Field podcast: https://www.croptechinc.com/bifr-8-19-2024/

Supply Chain Realities: Just-In-Time Dictates More Planning Ahead

Mon, 01 Jul 2024 15:40:24 GMT

Since 2020, a series of black swan events in just a few years time resulted in sporadic product shortages and concern about how to react and plan for the future. Because of those events, the crop input industry’s supply chain has been front of mind for suppliers, distributors, retailers and farmers.

“We’ve worked through a period of time when everyone grabbed everything they could,” says Jeff Tarsi, Nutrien’s executive vice president and president of of global retail. “Inventories were way too high as product became available again.”

But full warehouses and fully stocked retail sheds are less common today. In the current economic environment, the focus has become to minimize the cost of capital. With higher interest rates than the 10-year average, inventories have been worked down to avoid draining working capital.

“Managing working capital is one of the most important things we do,” Tarsi says. “There is not unlimited capital in this industry. And as such, at Nutrien, we’ve done a good job managing our inventory down.”

What This Means for Farmers and Retailers

Matt Plitt, president and CEO of Valent U.S.A, says now is the time to refocus efforts on future on-farm needs.

“Our customers are running at low inventory levels. And growers are looking at just-in-time purchasing,” Plitt says.

To alleviate tightness in the market and potential stress, industry leaders are encouraging everyone to plan ahead.

“Forecasting and timeliness are key. Especially in light of current interest rates, everyone needs to be smarter in how they manage inventory,” Plitt says.

The team at Nutrien Ag Solutions agrees saying there is great value up and down the supply chain for communication and conversation to inform product demands.

“Collaborating with an agronomist is more important today to plan for the crop and type of chemistries needed,” says Rob Clayton, Nutrien’s senior vice president of retail North America. “The best of the best are thinking three to five years out for a crop plan.”

Manufacturers Move to Just In Time Supplies

Brendan Deck, GM of Nufarm in North America says, “With the cost of capital we are having to manage cash more than we’ve ever done before. What is going to be key in this market is surge capacity to meet demands just in time.”

Deck adds Nufarm has grown its business from $300 million to $1 billion in annual sales in 10 years. And the company has invested in infrastructure to manufacture in the U.S. and closer to where the products are used.

The forecasting is becoming critical because managing inventories and using surge manufacturing are shortening the time frames products are made and products are being applied.

Valent’s Plitt says, “Internally, we are focused on how to meet the challenges of a dynamic marketplace. We must plan to be early because retailers and distributors make decisions early. In this industry, there’s still a mindset around destocking. It’s not about reducing inventory, but more about how long we carry it. We now manufacture the products closer to the time of application, which is why forecasting is so important.”

Buy the Dip, Sell the Rip?

Tue, 11 Apr 2023 12:45:22 GMT

Export Inspections

Yesterday’s weekly export inspections were in line with expectations.

Corn: 31,698,015 bushels
Soybeans: 24,602,332 bushels
Wheat: 12,325,453 bushels

Crop Progress

Good/Excellent ratings for winter wheat were reported at 27%, a record low for this time of year. Poor/Very Poor ratings were reported for 37% of the crop, the second worst on record, only 1996 was worse, coming in at 41% Poor/Very Poor.
3% of the U.S. corn crop is planted, up 1% from last week.

WASDE Report

Today’s USDA/WASDE report will be out at 11am CT. Below are the estimates for US Ending Stocks (in billions of bushels).

Corn: 1.319
Soybeans: .198
Wheat: .574

South American Production Estimates

Argentina Corn: 37.12, down from 40.0 in March
Argentina Soybeans: 29.30, down from 33.0 in March
Brazil Corn: 126.08, Up from 125.0 in March
Brazil Soybeans: 153.64, up from 153.0 in March

Outside Markets

Equity markets are firm in the early morning trade, crude oil is trading near unchanged at $79.66, and the US Dollar is little changed at 101.75.

Corn

Seasonal Trend in Play

The next corn seasonal starts on April 30th and is for the September contract.

Technicals (May)

May corn futures hit our 3-star technical support pocket to a T yesterday, marking a low of 640 1/4. In yesterday’s report we talked about this presenting an opportunity for Bulls and Bears, stating: “In our opinion, this would be a spot for bears to consider reducing exposure, and Bulls to consider building exposure as the risk range is fairly well defined.”. The market has was able to defend that support which helped prices stage an impressive rally. Prices have rallied as much as 17 cents off support, taking prices into our pivot pocket this morning, which we’ve outlined as 654-659. As with yesterday, we view this is an opportunity for Bulls an Bears, especially ahead of a USDA report. If you had used support as a buying opportunity, this is a spot to consider reducing or hedging that exposure. If you had reduced short positions and remain bearish, this is a spot to consider getting that exposure back on.

Bias: Neutral

Previous Session Bias: Bearish/Neutral

Resistance: 676**, 682 1/2-686****

Pivot: 654-659

Support: 636 3/4 -640 1/4***, 620-622**

Soybeans

Seasonal Trend in Play

July soybeans have trended higher from March 19th-April 30th for 13 of the last 15 years.
May soybean futures have trended higher from April 7th to April 21st for 12 of the last 15 years.

Technicals (May)

May soybean futures continue to linger in our pivot pocket, which we’ve outlined as 1490-1500. We see fairly equal risks on both sides of the market from these levels, which has our bias at Neutral ahead of today’s report. Managed Money is holding a fairly large (but not out of this world) net long position, which raises the concern of long liquidation if we get a bearish report and the technical give way.

Bias: Neutral

Previous Session Bias: Neutral

Resistance: 1528 3/4-1538 1/2****, 1549 3/4***

Pivot: 1490-1500

Support: 1472-1476****, 1456-1462***, 1437 1/2-1440***

Wheat

Seasonal Trend in Play

None

Technicals (May)

Wheat futures are trickling lower this morning, approaching the low end of the recent risk range. We remain optimistic that we can see higher prices, as mentioned in previous reports, options are a great way to gain market exposure to play for a counter trend move.

Bias: Bullish/Neutral

Previous Session Bias: Bullish/Neutral

Resistance: 712-715***, 730-735***, 746 3/4-758 3/4****

Pivot: 690-700

Support: 650-660***

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Silicon Valley Ag Tech Startup Talks Price Data

Sun, 15 Nov 2020 20:54:02 GMT

(Bloomberg) -- A Silicon Valley farm-data company is making a push into Canada in an effort to offer growers more price transparency on input costs for crops like canola.

Farmers Business Network signed up 200 farms across the Prairies since January and expects several hundred more to join this year, said Charles Baron, the company’s co-founder and vice president of product who’s a former program manager at Google. The service lets growers share details on farm data including seed performances and chemical prices.

“Farmers are incredibly disadvantaged in terms of the information they have and their relative commercial power in the market,” Baron said in a telephone interview from San Carlos, California, noting there are almost no publicly-posted prices and some retailers won’t even quote costs over the phone. “It levels the playing field for farmers.”

Greater transparency could help bring down the costs for farming inputs such as fertilizers and pesticides at a time when growers are struggling amid a multi-year rout in crop prices. The company has hired a team of 11 people in Canada with offices in Calgary. The expansion comes after it raised $110 million in November from investors including Google Ventures and Singapore’s Temasek. Some of the 6,300 U.S. farms using the data have saved as much as 50 percent on certain products, Baron said.

Copyright 2018, Bloomberg

Dicamba’s Future is Shaky—Is Enlist Next on the Chopping Block?

Sun, 15 Nov 2020 18:32:57 GMT

With a decision that’s still reverberating through farm country, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit vacated three over-the-top dicamba registrations: Engenia, FeXapan and XtendiMax. Now, plaintiffs have set their sights on Enlist Duo herbicide, featuring 2,4-D choline and glyphosate.

The lawsuit was brought forward by the National Family Farm Coalition and the Natural Resources Defense Council—the same plaintiffs in the recent dicamba case. Plaintiffs are suing Scott Pruitt, former EPA administrator, and list Dow AgroSciences (now Corteva Agriscience) as respondents-intervenor.

“The Enlist Duo case appears to focus more on the Endangered Species Act,” says Richard Gupton, senior vice president, public policy and counsel for the Ag Retailers Association (ARA). “The judges involved in this case differ from the dicamba case so ARA is hopeful there will not be a repeat of the immediate vacatur decision.”

EPA did not provide a comment on the case as the agency does not remark on pending litigation.

Corteva Agriscience provided the following statement to AgWeb: “The Enlist Weed Control System is an important tool for farmers, and Enlist Duo provides critical weed control with reduced potential for drift and near-zero volatility. We strongly disagree with the petitioners in the case brought against the U.S. EPA in the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit regarding the registration of Enlist Duo.”

Basic information about the case

While there are similarities to the case against dicamba, they’re not entirely the same. Here are the arguments listed in the public filing:

EPA violated the Endangered Species Act (ESA).
- Federal agencies must consult with expert wildlife agencies before taking any action (such as approving of a crop protection product) that might have any effect on any ESA-protected species or critical habitat.
EPA violated the ESA’s consultation mandates.
- EPA’s roles under FIFRA and ESA are very different.
- EPA’s application of FIFRA-based thresholds to determine whether to consult under ESA violates the ESA.
- Records show Enlist Duo ‘may affect’ hundreds of endangered species, requiring consultation.
- EPA unlawfully constricted the registration’s ‘action area.’
- EPA’s conclusion that Enlist Duo will have ‘no effect’ even on protected species within sprayed fields was unlawful.
  - EPA’s species-specific analyses violated the ESA. Whooping Crane and Indiana Bat are among those threatened.
  - EPA failed to use the best scientific and commercial data available. The agency’s exposure handbook is an inappropriate data source for risks to ESA-protected species.
- EPA violated the ESA by failing to consult the expert agencies about critical habitat.
  - EPA applied the wrong standard to determine if consulting on habitat is necessary.
  - EPA unlawfully excluded from consideration critical habitats except those containing sprayed field occupied by endangered or listed species.
  - EPA failed to properly assess effects on critical habitats even where listed species occupy sprayed fields.
EPA violated the Federal Insecticides, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA).
- EPA applied the wrong standard and failed to make statutorily required filings.
- EPA failed to ascertain that volatilization of 2,4-D from Enlist Duo would not have unreasonable adverse effect on the environment.
- EPA failed to consider synergistic effects of mixing Enlist duo with glufosinate.
The Court should vacate the registration.

“In approving Enlist Duo for spraying on millions of acres across much of the United States, EPA violated both the ESA and FIFRA in ways that risk harm to human health, endangered species and the environment,” plaintiffs allege in court documents. “These ESA and FIFRA violations compel vacatur to protect health and the environment.”

Does dicamba set a dangerous precedent?

In light of the dicamba decision, some are wondering what this means for future pesticide products and products currently on the market, such as Enlist Duo.

“ARA is very concerned with the bad precedent the Ninth Circuit Court decision and order [regarding the three dicamba registrations] will have on future EPA registrations related to pesticide products, including Enlist Duo,” Gupton says. “The federal court is imposing their decision related to the science and data in place of the regulator and industry. … The judges in the Ninth Circuit Court, who have no scientific and agronomic experience or background, substituted their judgment for that of EPA’s regulatory and industry experts.

“If these lawsuits continue with poorly based decisions, they will be a deterrent to manufacturers to invest in newer pesticide and seed technologies. The industry would be required to revert back to older approved pesticide products and deal with the possibility of increased weed resistance as they have become less effected by the older products,” he continues.

This lays out a roadmap that requires the EPA to scrutinize applications for new products more vigorously than it did with the three dicamba products, adds Todd Janzen, president of Janzen Agricultural Law, LLC. “So, it probably will make it a bit harder to bring more dicamba products forward.”

The dicamba vacatur brought up the issue of the social environment for the ag community, suggesting the herbicide had ‘torn apart’ the community. A new layer in an already complex registration system.

“Now that there is this precedent from the Ninth Circuit, it is likely that will be something that EPA in some way considers going forward when making these kind of registrations,” says Brigit Rollins, staff attorney with the National Agricultural Law Center.

With more eyes on EPA and chemical companies than ever before, one thing is for certain: nothing is certain.

“Anytime you use a product like a pesticide, it’s a high-risk product because of by the nature of it, it’s dangerous,” says Kristine Tidgren, director of the Center for Agricultural Law and Taxation at Iowa State University. “But the alternative is the inability to raise product [such as crops] that is necessary. So, there’s just a lot of tradeoffs and it’s a difficult decision [for regulators]. We’ll just have to wait and see.”

Read more about the recent dicamba Court mandate:

BREAKING: Court Removes Three Out of Four Dicamba Registrations

Non-Dicamba Options for Dicamba-Tolerant Soybeans

DowDuPont Sharpens Focus on Spinoffs

Sun, 15 Nov 2020 17:51:58 GMT

(Bloomberg) -- DowDuPont Inc. is working on a series of deals to tighten the focus at two of the three spinoffs it plans for next year.

The company will divest as much 10 percent of the portfolio in specialty products, which will reclaim the DuPont name, Chief Executive Officer Ed Breen said on a conference call to discuss first-quarter earnings. The bulk of asset sales will happen after the unit is spun off as a separate company next year, although a few deals may precede that, he said.

“We do have some businesses we would like to exit, and get the cash for those and redeploy it in higher growth areas,” Breen said. “We have that very defined.”

The Corteva Agriscience unit also is reviewing its portfolio of seeds and pesticides, Chief Operating Officer Jim Collins said on the call. The company may sell some “tangential” crop seeds to focus on core products such as corn, soy, wheat and rice, he said. Divesting crop-protection chemicals that face generic competition would provide more cash to launch new products, he said.

DowDuPont fell 1.8 percent to $62.32 at 11:58 a.m. in New York, compared with a 1.1 percent decline in the Dow Jones Industrial Average, where DowDuPont is a member. Through Wednesday, shares declined 4.7 percent since Aug. 31 when the merger was completed.

Cost Cutting

In addition to portfolio changes, Breen is driving $3.3 billion of cost cuts as the combined Dow Chemical Co. and DuPont Co. prepare for a three-way split next year. “Robust” end-market demand make Breen “highly confident” that DowDuPont will meet analyst expectations for full-year earnings, he said. He issued second-quarter guidance that exceeded analyst estimates.

DowDuPont plans to separate into three companies by June 1 next year. The materials-science business that churns out plastic will reclaim the Dow name and lead the spinoffs at the end of March. That will be followed by the separations of Corteva Agriscience and the DuPont specialty products business.

More details about the three spinoffs will be revealed during investor presentations in September or October, Breen said. The CEO said he will remain at the company through the spinoff process and will stay “actively involved” after the separations. He declined to elaborate on his involvement, saying management positions will be announced in the August-September timeframe.

Earnings Forecast

DowDupont expects second-quarter sales in its combined businesses to increase about 14 percent to a range of $23.3 billion to $24 billion. Operating earnings will climb about 23 percent to between $5.3 billion and $5.5 billion. Analysts had predicted second-quarter revenue at $22.4 billion and earnings at $5.18 billion, according to the average of estimates compiled by Bloomberg.

First-quarter adjusted earnings rose to $1.12 a share, beating the $1.09 average of analysts’ estimates. Gains at the Dow materials science unit and the DuPont specialty products business more than made up for weak results at Corteva Agriscience. Revenue rose 5 percent on a pro forma basis to $21.5 billion, compared with the $21.4 billion analysts expected.

Earnings in the Dow businesses climbed 23 percent as rising oil prices boosted profit at the chemical giant’s plastics unit. A recovery in the crude market is driving up global plastic prices as producers who use oil-based raw materials try to recoup escalating costs.

That’s a boon for U.S. producers, who can turn to cheaper natural gas liquids produced domestically, such as ethane, a byproduct of the shale boom. To capture that profit-margin advantage, DowDuPont’s Dow unit has invested billions of dollars on new and expanded factories in the U.S. that convert ethane into ethylene and polyethylene plastics.

Earnings at DuPont specialty products rose 25 percent, with gains notched in all four units.

Agriculture Rebound

Profit in the Corteva agriculture business plunged 39 percent as cold weather delayed the start of the planting season, reducing sales volumes. Earnings will bounce back in the second quarter by a percentage in the high 30s, the company said.

The company in March named Chief Operating Officer Jim Fitterling as the CEO of the Dow spinoff, succeeding Andrew Liveris, who also stepped down as chairman of DowDuPont on April 1. Liveris plans to leave the board on July 1, when he will become a director at Saudi Aramco, helping the world’s biggest crude exporter expand its business in chemicals.

The CEOs of the other two spinoff companies, Corteva and DuPont, have yet to be named.

Copyright 2018, Bloomberg